Tale of the Independent Kunoichi
by signelchan
Summary: Obviously, if I'm still alive, then the Hyuugas aren't as bad as they were. They're still totally bad, though. In more ways than one, too. Just because I'm still the same old Tenten doesn't mean I play those old games.
1. So, Where Are We? Oh Yeah!

Everything around me is dark. I can't see my hand, my fingers, the ring that I know is there, but I can see a figure. The outline of it is rugged and shady, but there are two glowing orbs on what I assume to be its head. I'm right, and it turns out to be a person.. And there are two more, not quite as tall, but with those same crystal orbs. They're taunting me, laughing, cat-calling my name.

Something grabs my arm. It pulls me, far away, to a place where there is light. The dreadful figures don't follow me here, so I feel safer than when I'm around them, but I know I'll have to go back there one day. My chains may be gone now, but they'll return. I know it.

My name is Tenten. My life is those figures. I will follow their orders. I will obey. I will. But I won't. I won't let the overbearing overlords take my freedom completely! After all, what's the point of saying you have a happy ending if you aren't _truly _happy?

* * *

"I'm surprised to see you here!" a voice screams as I walk into the flower shop. "I'd never expect you'd take the time out of your brand new, busy life to come visit me, Ten!"

"Yeah right, like I'd do that, Ino!" I'm standing in front of her, watching her jaw drop at the sight of me. I've neglected her ever since I returned from my honeymoon. I should probably have told her I was going to do that, but I forget things like that. "I could never forget you,e specially after all you've done to get me here."

She stares at me with huge green-blue eyes. "So tell me how your trip went!" My shoulders shrug, because, even if she is my best friend, I felt like a rift had fallen in between me and anyone I knew that wasn't married. I wasn't going to just go out and tell her everything that happened the week I was gone. There were two reasons for this. One was because she had a tendency to repeat what someone said to everyone else, and the other was because everything that happened recently was still extremely surreal to me.

Two months ago, I never would have seen me end up the way I am now. Back then, I was a liar who couldn't trust anything or anyone, except for Ino. But after a dreadful mistake at a bar late one night, I ended up in an engagement with the man I considered my worst enemy: Neji Hyuuga. The very next day, I found myself writing in a notebook that I later named Signel, the Diary of an Engaged Kunoichi. It made me notice all my strong and weak points, and pretty soon I was perfectly okay with marrying him.

There was only one thing wrong with the picture: his family. They spied on me, verbally tortured me, and even tried to keep me from making it to the wedding. But I stayed strong and overcame them and the obstacles they set forth. I might have gotten to the wedding a bit late, dressed up like a rocker, but I was there for the biggest moment of my life, even if there were a few awkward moments. Like getting dropped on the floor when I wanted to see the top of my cake.

And then there was our honeymoon. There is nothing that can beat sitting on top of a tree and watching the sun set. Nothing that can beat relaxing in a hot spring, not having a care in the world. And there's definitely nothing that can beat laying in bed all morning, just to bask in the peace that surrounds love.

If this was me two months ago, I would be hysterically laughing at my own words. But I've rapidly matured lately. I'm no longer the careless twenty-two year old brat I once was. I'm a completely different person. Everything has changed, and there's no stopping it.

"It was positively amazing," I tell her, trying to give her an answer that wouldn't be lying, because there's no way I can put the experience into words. "I had a great time being away from all the stress around here."

She grinned mischeviously. "And what else, because you must have had some late nights and all..."

My cheeks began to turn red. "Why is it that every time that someone does something romantic, you go on about that?" I was angry with her, but she smiled at me charmingly and rolled her eyes.

"You and I both know you did. Don't deny it." I sigh; there's no use trying to tell her off. "Now, tell me everything!!"

"Ino, I just realized I need to go take care of some things. I'll talk to you later, okay?" I wasn't lying to get out of the situation. I really had to leave to talk to some others, and I would at least try to get back to her.

She yawns, amused at my behavior. "Fine. But next time, you are letting me in on your little secret!" I wave at her and take off to my next stop: the Hokage's office, where I know the one of the worst things that could possibly happen to me is going to take place.

* * *

"And that's why I have chosen you to go on this mission!" Tsunade yells at me, after a hour long speech on my inability to follow directions. I'm totally shocked, because she hadn't mentioned anything about a mission before that. "Oh, yes, and because of your spectacular behavioral change you experienced in the past weeks from writing down all your thoughts, I am giving you a present for it. I believe you will enjoy it"

From behind her desk, she extracts a box, wrapped delicately and shaped, oddly enough, like a box, meaning it wasn't going to be something extravagant. She put it in my hands, and I quickly ripped it open, revealing a new journal and a kunai engraved with my name.

"Th-thank you," I stutter, bowing my head to her.

"Go out and break in those things! You might want them when you go on your mission, too, but that is only because they can keep you company!" She flicks her hand towards the door, and laughs.

I can only begin to understand the level of aging that has settled in on her mind, when she starts talking to herself as I leave. She starts saying things about people that meant something to her many years ago, people long gone. Then there are the cries for the man that she had loved that I lost for her.

Was it my fault that she was doing this? Was the mere sight of me emotionally distressful for her? Or was it just another secret I wasn't quite supposed to know about? I let the thoughts drift before frogeting about them completely and making my way home.

* * *

May 19 - A new beginning...

Secrets worth keeping are those life-changing ones. Secrets like what you did on your honeymoon or what your uncle-in-law wants your role in the family to be. On an average day in my life, you have to hide these secrets from everyone who doesn't know, plus those who don't need to know anymore than they already do.

I'm a bad girl for what I've done in the past. I might not be the old me, but this new version is just as messed up as that one. Adding a piece to my name may have made me stronger, but the letters still don't lie. I have a terrible past, but an awesome future. See? The terrible comes from the first letter in my name, and the awesome comes from the last.

You aren't just gonna be a "replacement" Signel. You are gonna be my new diary, totally different from the last one. That means I'm gonna have to name you, but that can wait.

I'm a Hyuuga by name but a rebel at heart. I'm a ninja both in real life and in written words, but most of all, I'm Tenten all the time.

* * *

A/N: Welcome to the refurbished tale of love, woe, and humor!~ Happy October 7th, and I'm glad you could make it.

This story, right now, seems like every lame story you've read before, right? Wrong. This one actually gets better, actually had romance, and actually will have an ending. After being taken down in June, I tweaked this chapter a bit, totally changed the next seven, and made it better.

This day is the two-year anniversary of the "first" story in the series being published. You do not have to have read the original tale to understand this sequel, by the by.

So, have fun! (I don't own teh characters. -sad-) Review it please, as well, so I know what good I have done, if any.

Siggy


	2. It's So Bad To Be A Kunoichi Right Now

May 26 - Too Blah For A Title

As a person, I'm a troublemaking liar. As a kunoichi, I'm a talented liar. As a Hyuuga, I'm a scared liar. And as a best friend, I'm just a liar. There should be more in that list, I know. But those are the basics.

Speaking of basics, that's all the mission I had to go on was. A test of the basics. And I did it flawlessly. No enemies attacked, I didn't starve, nothing. All that happened to me was a strange longing for a warm body to press against...but it's not like I've ever done anything more than that.

What am I thinking? I know for a fact that once everyone finds out I've got a new notebook, this stuff will be all over the village... I still need to name you. I've got an idea, but it seems kind of weird. I'm thinking Serenity. It starts with an S, so it's like Signel, but different, because you are two different notebooks.

I need help. Lots of help. More than a village full of ninja can give me. What I need comes from a normal, everyday person. But I'm too stubborn to find someone like that. I do things my own way.

In this case, doing it my own way means getting help. Because I don't think I can handle holding too many secrets for too long. I know I need to trust someone with this, but I can't put myself to it.

Times like this call for drastic action. If you're having problems with family, you go to a different family member, right? If you're having problems with yourself, you go to someone who loves you. And if you're having problems with your closest friends, you go nowhere and keep it all to yourself.

* * *

Looking out on the village, I see nothing I care about. All there is to see are trees and the ominous storm clouds on the horizon. If I was smart, I would have been spending time with friends. But no. I'm as dense as a hose and as brilliant as under the bed. Why else would I be up on a roof?

"Why am I a bad person?" I asked myself out loud. "I can't even go a day without wishing some evil on anyone!"

"You haven't done that today," someone behind me said. I turn around and saw Sakura standing behind me. "As far as I can tell, all you've done is sit here and talk to yourself. Oh, and write in that new notebook of yours." I smile at her and motion for her to sit down next to me. She accepted my offer quickly, and soon she had her hand on my shoulder.

Tears start to roll down her cheeks. "I'm having a horrible day," she said, "and it's all because of my engagement!" She took her hand off of me, and used it to wipe her eyes. "He said he couldn't stand me, and he left again. Ripped my heart right open."

"...You mean that there's gonna be no wedding between you and Sasuke? Man, Ino's sure gonna be pissed about that!"

She laughed at my comment. "Tenten, you always have been able to make me happy when I'm upset. I could never ask for a better friend than you. So you need to stop being so hard on yourself! Your life is perfect!"

_She thinks...my life is perfect?_ I couldn't help but think that maybe there was someone I could tell the secret that I was keeping, and maybe that was Sakura. "You don't know half of it. To you, it's perfect. To me, it's like living in prison."

"Prison? You're exaggerating! Everything I've seen shows that you're happier than you've ever been before!"

"I'm losing my best friend, my new family only wants me for one thing, and I'm making the Hokage go insane. Yeah, I'm so happy."

For a few minutes, she was silent, then she stood up and turned away. "I thought you learned your lesson already. Lying gets you nowhere."

* * *

"Could you please hurry up your writing? You need to pay attention as I tell you this," Hiashi said sternly, eyeing me as I scribbled in my notebook. "Or else you will forget everything I am going to tell you and then your little world will be ruined."

I sighed. It had been a long day. After the ordeal with Sakura, I had to go run pointless errands. After that, I had a nice, long rant session in my notebook, which I was finally finishing up. "There. Done," I said, setting it down on the table next to me.

"Then follow me. This conversation is for only you to hear, and I expect no one else to ever find out about it." He ordered me to stand and stay close behind him as he led me to a room off to the side of the house. "Now," he said, leaning against the door after he closed it on us, "apparently your life isn't as great as you have wanted it."

"H-how do you know that?" I asked him.

"Your actions mean more than words. You're acting depressed, and I have a way to cheer you up." He stuck his hand out and lifted all five fingers. "This is how long you have to please me. Five years."

"Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Not at all. You are living in my house, and even though you are not truly part of this head family, you will do this for me. I do believe that you know what I am doing for you, because I made sure that you were told before this was started."

There was no comeback I could make for his last statement. If he had made sure I was told, why didn't I remember it? I knew I had been told after I had moved in, but that was it. Was there something there that I had ignored? "I'm not sure you did that. I've only heard it once, and that was when Neji told me. And that wasn't before I got involved with this psychotic scheme."

"So you have no recollection of our conversation concerning this?" His tone was serious, which meant that I was seriously forgetting something.

"That's right. There are no memories whatsoever."

"Would you like to be reminded about it?"

"...Yes, please."

He cleared his throat. "I was there the night you were proposed to, watching every move you made, waiting for the perfect moment to tell you this. And when I got the chance to, it was after the two of you had been talking for a little while. I must say, you weren't the tiniest bit annoyed by it. You told me something along the lines of 'I could make you happy right now, but he's stubborn and probably won't let me get much further than taking his shirt off.'"

He paused for a second, looking up at the ceiling. "Then you went back over to where he was and continued on with your conversation. I guess you wouldn't remember this after all. You had been drinking for most of the night, and when you had spoken to me, I recall that your words were severely slurred."

"So you mean to say that you told me one of the most important things I'd need to know when I was drunk?"

"That is correct."

"And you're actually expecting me to follow through with it?"

"Again, correct."

I shook my head. "There's no way I will."

"Then you should start finding a way to get me what I desire." Stunned, I looked at him with a questioning glance. Replying, he said, "You have to do this. Or else the future of this clan is non-existent. One of my daughters is too weak and useless to produce a proper heir, and the other shows no interest in ever falling in love. I had no choice but to call on the youngest and most gifted of the branch family to fufill this honor. And you just happen to be the woman that he chose to do this with."

"Right. Thank you for explaining to me exactly what my new goal in life is all over again. I just want to be free, you know," I told him, sarcasm in my voice.

"Five years is all I'm giving you, though. I fear for my life, as I have lately been feeling weaker than I used to. I'd like there to be someone there for after I'm gone, even if they are too young to do anything. My daughters can fill in until then."

_He's basically predicting his death and telling me that I have a certain amount of time to have a child, just so he can use it to replace him!_

"One more thing, Tenten," he said, getting up off the door. "Don't bother looking for your notebook. You aren't getting it back until you have a reason to." I was shocked. We had a nice, if not disturbing, conversation, and then he goes and takes somthing so personal from me! "Your descriptions of everyone were lovely. I bet they'll love to tell you exactly what they think of them. Have a good night."

* * *

"What did you guys talk about?" Hanabi asked me as soon as I stepped out of the room. "I bet it was extremely interesting! Father has said that I could have joined in, but I had a special delivery to make."

"Shut up."

"Come on! Tell me!"

"I'm not allowed to, bitch. Now leave me alone."

She smirked. "That's a dirty word. Of course, you use much nastier ones than that. I've read your writings before. I'm glad you only call me that."

"So you read it, huh? What did you think? Wasn't it great how ever since you entered my life, everything's turned horrible and I'm hating you more and more each day?"

"It was beautiful, and I especially love how you only said one think about the person you resented from the day you met him, and it wasn't bad at all," she said, clasping her hands and twirling on her toes. And it just so happened that he appeared behind her right then, looking at me like I did something wrong. "I guess I should go now," she mumbled, quickly disappearing from sight.

I sighed. "Are you mad at me, Neji?"

"It depends on what you did this time."

"Let's just say that my new notebook is out somewhere in the village."

"As long as you made sure that your words about me were kind, I guess I don't really care," he said. I sighed again. It takes a liar to understand a liar. It takes a ninja to understand a ninja. And it takes a Hyuuga to understand all the things related to both.

Too bad I'm only a Hyuuga by name and not by blood.

* * *

A/N: I, personally, hate this chapter, and could not stand to fix it very much. It does its job well.

Reviews are appreciated, especially if you want to say anything about how suckish this piece is. :3 No, really. And if you favorite it, please leave a review, so I don't feel cheated.

Siggy


	3. Makes Me Wonder if It's All a Joke

I don't know what it is, but there are times that life just freezes, where nothing happens, and we can get in that last minute of sleep, or that tiny bit of work, or even a final word. It never matters what you do with it. As long as there is no advantage-taking, it will happen again, and again, and again...

Time is a loop that skips every once in a while, I guess. It happens when least expected, but hopefully it won't happen again soon. Like, it happened a few days ago, when I woke up from a horrible dream just to find out that it had been exactly twenty minutes since I had fallen asleep.

Life makes no sense anymore.

* * *

Rereading the little piece of paper, I smiled, seeing that, written out, my thoughts really were beautiful things. I was awake, once again, before everyone else in the house, so I wanted to let out my fears instead of allowing them to bottle up inside of my head.

The sheets on the bed rustled, and I peeked out of the closet to see what was going on. Hinata was making the bed, while Hanabi and Hiashi talked about something in feverish whispers. All in all, it was a pretty average morning in a house filled with people who hated me. I was hiding, not by force but by choice. They were seemingly rummaging through my room, looking for the key to why I was acting so weird.

As far as I was concerned, that key was off on a solo mission to protect something from someone that really didn't matter to me. What did matter to me was the fact that he was not at home with me.

Five years or not, we needed to stay together until fate tore us apart. I was still pretty ticked off that I had been told the whole thing and didn't remember it, but if I had promised it, then I definitely had to go through with it. And with them in the room, I figured I could ask some questions. But how, exactly, was I to find a way to successfully divert their attention from my stuff to me?

Apparently, falling into reality helps a lot. When I stood up to casually make my entrance, I tripped and fell face first onto the floor, landing inches from two pairs of feet.

"Hello there," Hanabi sneered. I rolled my eyes as I got back up. "Watch where you land next time."

"I didn't touch you..."

"Yes, well, something did." Instinctively, I glared at her face, which was about even with mine. Mental note: never get into a heated discussion with a girl who is related with, younger than, and as tall as you. "I'm pretty sure it was you."

I went to say something in return, but I didn't. Was there a slight hint of _compassion_in her voice? "Silence," Hiashi warned, noticing my open mouth. "We have no need to listen to your babble."

"Right, Father." The girl got out of my face and began to dig through my stuff once more. "You can deal with her, like you wanted to."

"Hey!" I shouted. "I already talked to him, and where'd that get me? Stuck in this house while the world reads all that means anything to me!" I expected a glare, an order, or at least a snicker, but all I got in return for my outburst was a sigh.

Hiashi put his hand on my shoulder. "This is more of a lesson that what happened before," he told me, his voice rough in my ears. "It's a shame I have to tell you, though. Your husband was looking forward to it."

My heart lurched and I began to panic. "What is it?" He smiled, a pure, happy smile that freaked me out only in the slightest, and said the one thing I hoped he never would, especially after the last talk.

"It deals with your chances of surviving the next five years."

* * *

My eyes were fixated on the ground as I was dragged out of the room and into the empty space behind the door across the hall, somewhere I had not been into during my entire time at the house. We had left the girls behind in my room, under the order to not open any boxes, drawers, or cabinets with their hands, and Hiashi was dead set on telling me whatever it was that he needed to in complete privacy. "It's something they already know," he told me, "and they've know it since they were little."

"Then why should I care if it's a Hyuuga secret?"

"Because it's not a secret, and even if it was, you are a Hyuuga now, and what is ours is yours. Sadly."

We were in the room, alone, and I was disgusted that he had said that, but I was too scared to make any comment about the rudeness of his words. "Well, okay. But why do you have to tell me? I bet I'd be okay not knowing."

"It's necessary for you to learn this." He turned and looked at me, and for the first time since I had met him, I had felt something other than animosity coming from his words. There was only concern here, and he felt like I really needed to know whatever it was that was plaguing him. "Because, of course, if you don't, we may surprise you a bit with our actions."

"What do you mean, actions?"

The look I got from him on that one was the look you only get when you say something really stupid. "When people say things a bit out of the ordinary, it freaks others out. We do not want to scare you into leaving."

I smacked my head. "If I was going to leave, I would have done it in a heartbeat, a long time ago."

"Very well."

"I didn't say I was leaving now!"

Hiashi never was one for listening to pointless ramble, as I soon learned. "I'm going to say this once, and then you better remember it," he warned, his voice low. "You will get your notebook back when we decide to let you have it."

"Yeah, you never did say the terms in which I got it back, so I kind of assumed that already."

"Silence!" he howled, causing me to jump back in fright. "I am going to tell you what exactly has to happen for you to get it back. Listen carefully, because your excuse of being drunk is not applicable this time." I sighed. "What? You don't want to listen. All right then. When we tell you strange things, don't be surprised."

I sat down on the ground, rolling my eyes and telling him to go on ahead and say it as I did so. "You remember the last talk we had, correct?" I nodded, and the memories of exactly what went down flashed before my eyes. "I gave you the five years ultimatum that night, and, in case you think you can hide anything from us, there is a way we will know you are lying or not."

"Um, by lying, you mean faking it, right?"

"Yes. Were you planning on doing that, Tenten?" I shook my head furiously. "You see, we feared you would attempt to do that. If you did, then the situation would be unfixable, and you would be banished from the family."

His hand came down and tousled my hair. "But I don't want that. I don't think you do, either."

"I don't."

"Good. Now, what is one thing that I have that you do not?"

"No sense of humor?" My response was greeted with a very mean-sounding set of tongue clicks. "Joking, joking. I know what you're talking about. You've got evil intentions and I don't."

The tousling stopped, and I watched as Hiashi slowly pulled his arm back and stepped away from me. "You're missing the point. Think a bit harder." I stopped trying to come up with more silly differences and began making real ones.

"Well, you have much more life experience than me. And you're quite intimidating, while I am not. Plus, you have a way with words that I can only dream of having." My thoughts were interrupted by him when he glared at me. That was when I finally got what he was getting at. "Oh, that's right! You have that..."

"Very good. Now, what does that do?"

I thought for only a second before answering with, "You can see chakra networks and stuff."

"That's right. All the times you heard that speech, although you were not listening with your heart, paid off. Yes, I was told about your feelings long before this all happened. But that is a conversation for another day. Right now, you must learn about the topic at hand."

"I know what your eyes do, Hiashi. What do they have to do with anything?"

He smiled a sick, twisted smile. "You said it yourself."

"No, I didn't. I just told you the answer to what you asked me." As I tried to explain to him what had happened, I realized what he wanted me to. "Oh. Chakra networks."

"We know the way the chakra flows almost as well as we know ourselves. When we look at someone and see an issue, we can normally pinpoint the exact cause. You will get your notebook back when and only when we can find something abnormal with you. And," he said, as I stood back up, "we will probably know before you ever do."

That last line scared me more than I bet he expected it to. I left the room to his laughter, just to find Hinata and Hanabi standing in the hall, crying because of how hard they were laughing.

I went back into my room and hid in the closet for the next couple hours. There was still a whole lot of time to be spent alone with these people, and I was definitely not going back out there at the moment. That was too scarring of a situation for me to handle seeing their faces and thinking.

One thing about the entire situation made me happy: At least it was Hiashi telling me.

---

A/N: I worked so hard on this chapter. -proud nod- Wrote it out of a need for some good explanation. I hope you enjoy it, and leave me a review even if you don't.

I own no characters.

Siggy


	4. Speaking of Jokes, I've Got a Life Full

"It's not meant to be like this, right?" I ask, my voice wavering. "I'm not going to be killed at the rise of the sun?"

There isn't an immediate response. My eyes shift downward as I sit in silence, waiting, hoping, that I won't get the future that was spoken of. Then: "I don't know. I'd save you if I could, but..."

"Oh. Okay."

The sound of footsteps fills my ears. Or is it my heartbeat? _Thud, thud. Thud, thud._

I woke up on the floor.

* * *

I wince as I pull myself up off of the ground. No wonder my dream was so weird, I think to myself. I always have the weirdest dreams when I sleep anywhere other than a nice bed. And I must have fallen off pretty early, because there was a pillow and a blanked down there for me.

"Ugh, why didn't someone tell me I was on the floor," I asked, knowing an answer is highly unlikely.

But my assumption is wrong. "That's where I found you when I got home this morning. Decided you deserved your sleep, so I left you there."

My heart nearly skipped a beat. "Neji!" I squealed. He rolled over on the bed and looked down at me, as I had fallen again and was laying flat on the floor. Our eyes met and I noticed the normal shine in his pearl ones was gone.

"Hello there, beautiful," he whispered, and I scrambled to sit up just so I could cover his face in kisses. "What's going on?"

"You know, the usual..." I didn't want to tell him about the talk Hiashi and I had had the week before. It was the one thing on my mind all the time, and seeing my wonderful husband made me think about it even more.

He pulled away from me. "There's something there. Spill it."

"I've been stuck in this crazy barn without you. Of course there'd be something there," I said as seriously as I could. "I just don't want to talk about it."

"Why not? Mentally scarring to remember it?"

"Oh no, I haven't forgotten it. It's all I think about, beside you, of course." My eyes shifted toward the ground, and I finally stood up, stretching. "Would have rather heard it from you, though."

A surprised laugh came out of his mouth. "He gave you _that _talk, didn't he?"

I nodded before jumping on the bed and laying down, my body resting next to his. "Scared me half to death. Why are all of his talks so scary?"

"Well, he has had to put up with teaching us the rules of the family. He likes putting people into a state of shock to get his point across..."

"You really are a wonderful husband. You can get me from being excited, to scaring me again, to making me wish I didn't actually marry you."

He rolled over so that he was on top of me. "But you still love me," he said, ignoring the fact that I had just insulted him. "And that's all that matters."

"Yeah, yeah." I pulled him into a deep kiss, because, even though he was slightly making me mad, I couldn't not love him.

* * *

There was a banging noise coming from across the hall, about three days after my little family was reunited. I was sitting on the bed, like normal, because what else was I going to do, other than go out and visit people who probably hated my guts? My closet was too full for me to go hide in at the moment, anyway.

But the banging noise was bothering me, as it was disturbing my alone time. I didn't mind all that much when there was noise coming from in the room, but when it was from across the hall, it was slightly odd. "Can you keep it down?" I asked, shouting as loud as I could, but I knew my voice didn't overpower the noise.

Hanabi poked her head into my room. "Oh, you're in here? Thought you'd be working."

"Working on what?"

"You didn't hear?" She seemed surprised. "Well, last night, Father decided that he was going to allow you two to build on to this side of the house, so that whenever you guys actually become a _real_ family, you have your own space where he can watch you."

I groaned. "Not that shit again. Please no."

"I'm not going to talk about it anymore. But you know what? If you help, you can get it done faster."

"Erm, do you forget who you're talking to?"

She smiled her sweet smile. "Tenten, I know you're capable of a lot of stuff. After all, you are a ninja. You are part of this family."

"And I'm not very good at anything." I couldn't believe I was telling this to Hanabi, of all people. "I just don't do too good with work or any task that isn't sitting, writing, or fighting."

"You'd make a horrible mother."

"Thank you, you."

Once again, she put the smile on her lips. "You know, I really do appreciate you. I just don't always like you."

"How sweet." I went to add more, but I was rudely interrupted by the noises from across the hall. When there was a break in them, I said, "Come in, so we can close that door." She nodded and came in, just to run over to my closet like a starstruck little girl.

"You really do have a lot of cool stuff," she said in a hurried way, "and I'm jealous. Father would never spoil me like this."

I gasped. "Spoiled? I bought almost all of that stuff myself, and only a few things in there are from after I moved here." My hand waved towards a few pairs of shoes sitting near the front. "But, I guess, since you're small, you can get in there and look around."

Never before had I seen Hanabi get so excited as I did when I said that. Her eyes opened wide, her jaw dropped, and she squeezed in between my boxes and stuff, just to actually look at everything I owned. There were some things in there that I didn't particularly want her to see, but she was being nice for the moment.

And I guessed I could just play along.

* * *

A/N: Ooooh, I lurve me some crazy!Hanabi. :)

I don't own, and please review.

Siggy


	5. The Things I Go Through, Eh?

I was not too happy after a little incident involving the construction on the house, when I was sleeping one night and was rudely awoken by someone deciding it was okay to be working at almost midnight. It was one of those times where I was alone, as Hiashi was out of the village for some reason, and everyone else was spending the night either guarding some lord of some land or with friends.

Well, that was what I had thought was going on. When I dragged myself out of bed, picked myself up from off the ground after tripping over a shoe, and got to the door, I began to panic that something seriously bad could be going on. I was a ninja, and I was scared. Right there, I decided was going to go out there and regain my ninja points I had just lost, even if it meant I would die.

Opening the door, I was greeted by a giant tarp, covering up the work zone, and I was not going to go past it, because I didn't know exactly what was behind it. "Who's in there?" I shouted, hoping my voice was louder than the noise.

It was. "Tenten? I thought you were asleep!"

"Neji? I thought you were supposed to be out!"

"Have you ever heard of a lie? Yeah. I told you one so I could work on this."

I laughed, because he was standing right on the other side of the tarp, and I could see him pressing up against it. "I'm okay with you working during the day."

"But I had a really good idea for something, and I didn't want you asking about it. Did I wake you up?" He was being so silly, and I couldn't go and lie to him (although he had just lied to me), so I told him, yes, yes he had. "Sorry about that, love."

"It's really no problem. Why don't you come into the room, and we can just sleep. Then, in the morning, you can work on whatever you're working on, and you won't have to worry about disturbing your wife's sleep." My arms were folded across my chest, and I started tapping my toes. "Unless, of course, you don't want to sleep..."

"Are you tired?" he asked, pulling the tarp back and coming past it. "You sure don't look it."

I grinned. "If I was tired, I'd still be in bed."

"Lazy."

"You're liking this, aren't you?"

"If you want me in there, and not out here, you better make it worth my time."

He gave me a look of pure excitement after that, and I got exactly what he was hinting at. "Are you sure about that?"

"Damn straight. You're my wife. You have to make me happy." I grabbed his arm and started pulling him toward the room.

* * *

"And happy you'll be, when I'm through with you!"

So maybe it wasn't quite what we both had been looking forward to, but I wasn't going to complain after waking up next to him like any morning before, but having him be shirtless and me so much in love with him. It was something else, totally. And, probably the best part of it all was that he never did get up to go do whatever he was doing.

No, wait. Best part was that no one else was home to wonder what was going on. But that afternoon, I was out with Ino, doing some shopping with her. She had mentioned me seeming more happy than normal, and I, once again, didn't want to clue her in on my romantic life. "I swear, if something happened, I'd tell you right away," I said in probably the most sarcastic way I could have. "And I'd expect you to do the same."

"If you're going to lie to me about this, why should I?" she retorted, before being distracted by a cute little puppy that some scary lady was holding. There was something she was hiding, I could tell, but I wasn't going to act like her and interrogate her for it.

"Hey, Ino!" I heard a male voice call out. Spinning, I saw that it was Chouji coming up to her, and she was too interested in that dog to even pay attention.

What did I do, seeing this guy coming up to my friend, and her not even noticing? I went up behind her and jerked her head in his direction, that's what. "Don't lose focus next time!"

"Hi there, Chouji," she giggled. "How are you today?"

"I'm good. You?"

She shrugged, and I backed away. "I've been amazing. Do you want to go to lunch or something?"

"Of course I would." And with that little exchange, I lost my shopping partner, and was left alone for the rest of the day, just poking around through shops and such until it was close enough to dinnertime for me to go back to the house.

Dinner was an interesting ordeal all in itself. Since Hiashi was off doing whatever it was he was doing, it was just me, Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi there, and I was not cooking, because I definitely remembered the last time I had cooked. No one wanted to eat burned to oblivion food.

I was surprised to walk into the house and see the two girls cooking. However, I was not surprised to hear the construction noises again. "He's still going at it?" I jokingly asked.

"He's stubborn," Hinata replied, not turning away from her work.

"I know that. After all, I have known him for a long time, and I am married to him."

"You do know his birthday is tomorrow, right?" Hanabi questioned, to which I let out a nervous chuckle and a lie that I did in fact know.

She didn't buy it. And that little lie right there was what made sitting with them for a meal all the more interesting. They couldn't just go out and say I had had no clue that my very own husband's birthday was the next day, but they sure could hint at it.

"Is something going on between you guys?"

"Of course not! We're just playing around with dear, sweet Tenten. Isn't that right, Hinata?"

The older girl nodded. "Yes, it is."

I was more than happy to get to go back to my room and hide from them all until it was time for bed, but because of the work, I was attempting to fall asleep alone.

When I did, it was because I was pondering exactly how I was going to get myself out of my current predicament.

* * *

A/N: We all know what forgetful!Tenten means, right? More fun!

I don't own. _Please review, just so I know people are actually reading. I've been getting a lot of favorites and alerts, but no reviews. :(_

Siggy~


	6. Birthday Days and Nights

"Good morning, girls," I muttered halfway through a yawn. "What's going on?"

"It's pretty funny, actually," Hinata replied, passing me a bowl of some kind of tasteless cereal. "I had the bright idea to sit outside your room last night after you went to bed, and I heard what you were saying to yourself. You should have just asked us for help."

Hanabi grinned. "We planned something out for you two to do today."

"And we were hoping you hadn't planned anything."

I smiled, but covered my face with my hands. "That's great. What are me and my husband doing?"

"You'll see," the said simultaneously, which freaked me out. I wasn't used to them being helpful when it involved me, but this was two days in a row where they had been.

So I ran back to the bedroom, where I had left my sweetheart sleeping. This time, though, he was laying there wide awake. "You're alive," I joked.

"Not funny, Ten," he replied, sitting up. "What time did I come in?"

"Well, I fell asleep at midnight, and you weren't in here. So sometime after that." My face was as serious as I could make it. "Neji, you're spending too much time working in there. Just hire someone, because your work is taking away from our special time."

He groaned. "If I hire someone, they'll not make it the way I'd make it."

"So what? You were working on your birthday!"

"That's today, isn't it?"

The nod I gave must have given it away. "Yeah. Happy birthday, love."

"Thanks." He turned and put his feet on the ground. "What are we doing today?"

My mouth froze. "I'm not sure. I was thinking, maybe we could spend some quality time together as we..."

"Go out on the town!" I heard Hanabi hiss from behind the door. I hoped he hadn't heard, as I repeated the line.

And then it hit me. I was taking my workaholic husband out on a trip that a group of girls would enjoy. Not a twenty-two-year-old guy's dream birthday celebration, I understand. But I should have known that those women would plan something that they would like. "Are you serious? We're going out?"

"Yeah, I didn't know what you'd want to do, and since we never actually dated, I figured it would probably be best." I gave him the once-over as he did the same thing to me. "But before we go anywhere, we should probably get dressed properly."

"I agree with the dressed part. Everything else seems like you just wanted an excuse to go out." He was standing now, towering over me, but he bent down just low enough so I could kiss him. "Shall we get ready, Tenten?"

* * *

"Of course, Neji. Just, make sure you don't wear anything work-ruined. I don't need to be spending time with someone that visibly looks like they've been building something for awhile."

He was leaning against the closet door, blocking my way from getting any more clothes out, as I already had to have had mostly everything around the room. I was a very picky woman when it came to what I wore on special occasions, it turned out. But after a few minutes of being me, I was finally ready in a pair of everyday pants and a pretty nice shirt.

I shrugged at him when he asked if I was sure it was what I wanted to wear. Yeah, I could have found something better, but I wasn't modeling. Besides, we weren't doing anything romantic, and he wasn't all that dressed up either. So he was obviously intending to ask if I was sure it was comfortable, not if it was gorgeous enough. "You're always beautiful, hon," he reminded me. "Even when you've got pink streaks and no shoes on." He hugged me after that, and soon we were off, holding hands all the way.

Our trip was amazing, to say the least, if only because we didn't give in halfway because one of us was tired. That's how our other experiences had gone, with one of us giving in after a few hours because we just didn't feel like shopping. And, it was only the day before that I had been out with Ino. So if anyone was to quit, it should have been me.

But we stuck it out, window shopping the whole way. I never liked having to rely on other people's money, even if the other person was my husband, and since I had done little work since the wedding, I had gotten no more money. "Ten, look," he had said at one point, before showing me a beautiful dress. Now, I wasn't too keen on dresses, but this one was bright pink. How could I resist wanting it?

"It's...gorgeous," I replied, "but you aren't getting it for me."

"Not now, no. Maybe later, okay?"

His insisting tone lead me to believe he just didn't want to buy me something while it was his birthday. "Sure, babe. Whatever you want."

And then we were walking again. Alone time between us two was hard to come by, ever since he started working on the house. This was quite special, as well as it being the first birthday we had celebrated since we had been married.

"Hey, Neji?" I asked once the sun began setting.

"Yes?"

I looked at his face; it was full of wonder. "Why did you pick me to get married to?"

"Tenten, I've known you for a long time. Yeah, I know we weren't friends, but we were close. And I knew quite a lot about you, enough, in fact, that I knew you'd be great for the family." He closed his eyes. "And you might not get along with them, but they care."

"But did you love me?"

I felt his hand touch my shoulder. "Of course I did."

"Okay. Thanks. Sorry it's taken me until now to ask you."

"No problem. You probably wanted to be away from the rest of them to ask."

I nodded, although I knew he couldn't see. "We should head back. Don't want to be out too late, you know. They might have pla-"

"You know very well they don't care. We could go back and party, just you and I."

Something about the way he said it, it just made me want to do what he suggested. "Let's get going then," I whispered, standing on my toes to reach his ear. "Because that sounds great."

Not even fifteen minutes later, we were back at the house, already undressing, getting ready for another night of celebration. Honestly, I was sure that was the only thing he wanted for his birthday. He was seriously deprived of physical love from me, his wife, and he totally deserved some.

I just wish it hadn't involved our hair getting tangled together, a fact we learned when we woke up the next morning.

* * *

A/N: A creation of me being really bored and creative. I actually wrote this a few days ago, but didn't want to post it until I had the next chapter done, too.

Honestly, I'm not liking this story anymore. Readers need to read, though.

I have no ownership in the subject matter. But, whatever, because if you review, you review. You don't, eh, I'll be fine with it.

(Oh, and you'll never guess what the next one is about. Never guess.)

Siggy


	7. Hanabi Questions Me, I Question Others

Life in the Hyuuga house is something surprising. Take, for example, how some mornings, I wake up to find that my room is being cleaned by one of the other women.

Other days, though, start out with quite a bit more surprise. Such as one when I woke up extra early for some reason, just to notice that the light in my closet was on. I knew I had turned that thing off before I had gone to sleep. Sure, I had been rummaging through it before that, but I wasn't one to leave a light on.

"Who's there?" I asked quietly, getting myself out of the bed.

Whoever it was dropped a glass something, because I heard the shattering. "Tenten? Did I wake you?" Hanabi replied, her voice emitting fake sweetness.

"Of course you did. The light?"

"Shut up. There's no way that woke you up. It had to have been my failed attempt at sneaking in. Let's keep it at that." She stepped out of my closet, only for me to see that she was wearing some of my favorite clothes.

I rolled my eyes. "Hanabi, why are you wearing my stuff?"

"Because it's all so pretty, and I want to be able to use it while you can't." The smile on her face was so blissful, so real, that I didn't doubt that it was the truth. "You know, I like all of it. You should totally let me take it."

"Wait, what?"

She twirled on her toes, letting the end of the skirt she was wearing billow out. "Take it. Later. Not now. When you can't use it."

* * *

"That's what I thought you meant." My head hurt at the idea of what she was saying. She liked this whole "five years" thing, didn't she? Well, I guess she did, because it meant all of the stress wouldn't be on her shoulders anymore. For the first time, I saw her not as a pest, but as a struggling girl with a fate she didn't want.

But I couldn't just let that go like that. I, being the nice person I try to be, ended up taking a bunch of my too-small clothes I had been saving from years past into Hanabi's bedroom and letting her try all of those on. She really was pretty when she was being an angel, not her father's demon. I enjoyed being in her company, especially since she was telling me about her private life that didn't involve the family.

Why hadn't I known she was this amazing? All that time, I had been secretly calling her a bitch under my breath when she walked by. And now? She was a good person at heart, although her actions sometimes didn't show that.

"I don't get her," I told Neji later that night, while I was sitting up against our room's door and he was in the construction site working. "She's like a present. A very wrapped up present."

"Most people in this family are."

"You know, I should have noticed that before this. You used to be a real puzzler, way back before all of this happened." I wiggled a finger in his general direction, although I knew he couldn't see it. "Might have done something to make me not like you."

He laughed, and I couldn't help but giggle. "Ten, are you being serious about that?"

"If I wasn't, I probably wouldn't have said it. I'm not like I used to be, where it was impossible to tell if I was lying or not. I haven't lied in weeks."

"How should I be sure you aren't lying now?"

My eyes widened "Really? Why would I lie to you through the tarp? That's almost as bad as me lying to your face, and I wouldn't do that ever. You'd kill me before all the words got out."

"This is true."

"Hey, wait, if you're talking to me, are you really working?" I asked. "Because I hear no loud noises."

He obviously hit something against a piece of wood, as a hammering sound resulted. "There. Happy?"

"No. Tell me, love. What are you doing?"

"Is it wrong for a man to be painting a wall?"

Without me even trying, I came up with a million and one reasons on why it was. But why would I go and be mean? "If it was, it would also be wrong for a woman to know how to fight and throw things better than her husband."

* * *

"You're funny." I could tell he was trying to hide his anger. "Go on now, into the bedroom. I'll be in there in a few minutes."

Sometimes I liked asking myself why I actually got married to him. I knew the answer, that I was in love with him and just trying to hide the truth from myself, but what if that wasn't really it? What if it was because he, or anyone else in his family, brainwashed me?

It wasn't possible, but I had always thought it was impossible for me to fall in love, and I did. So what if they had? How would they have gotten away with it? Hiashi had a way with scaring me into agreements, some of which went down while I was drunk, but it was all the same. What if they had some sort of drink that made me follow their every order.

I screamed. Neji had come into the room, holding a tray that had a nice bottle of something on it. Why was it that when I thought of drinks, they appeared?

"What's the occasion?"

"Must something special be going on for us to have a fun night?"

My heart began pounding. "I guess not, but wouldn't it be nice? I like knowing why we're doing this sometimes."

"I don't think I need a reason to give my love to my wonderful wife." He put the tray down on a dresser. "Which reminds me. When did Hanabi get your old clothes?"

"I gave them to her."

He grinned. "Nice to see you being fair to my family."

"I try."

"Come on. Let's get this started, okay?"

The next morning, I woke up to a dark room. The fact that there was nothing strange going on like before was a comfort to my very confused mind.

* * *

A/N: Well, I'm getting to what I think is the best part. :D I'd appreciate some reviews, please.

I don't own.

Siggy


	8. Encounters in the Dark Room

A different day, a different surprise. I should know by now, when in this house, there are no rules to play by. Anything is fair games, so don't act too shocked when something happens out of the ordinary. Almost four months here, and I still don't remember that rule.

But this, this takes the cake of weirdness. No, it isn't anything remotely close to what my goal is in the family, but it could turn into one of those weird times where the burden is lifted off of me and put on someone else.

_I have found Hinata sneaking a person into the house. _I thought, looking past the tarp one morning. This was a day after a wild night of fun and complete bliss, in my opinion. Why I was up that early was beyond me. All I knew was that someone was in that room, and it couldn't possibly be anyone other than Hinata. _And I need to go in there and stop her._

But how, exactly, was I going to do that? I was not allowed beyond the tarp. That was not my place to be. I don't know how many times I've asked Neji for a glimpse of what he had done back there, and he always said no, I could wait until it was done. It wasn't fair. She was back there! I had to get her out, and get whoever she brought with her away.

If only I had just waited until someone allowed back there was awake. I pulled the corner of the tarp up and snuck under it, only to trip over a piece of wood, probably the same piece from the day when paint was going on the walls. "Someone's there!" I heard a male voice shout.

"No! They found us!"

"Hinata, it's just me, Tenten!" Even though I was flat on the floor, I waved my arms around. "I just need him, whoever he is, out."

I heard the man sigh. "It's okay, sweetie. I'll just go, and we can meet up at my place next time. I should have known coming here would be a bad idea." Since Hinata was a strong woman now, I figured she'd take that lightly. Nope. She just whined, loudly, of all things.

I scrambled to get up and get back out, but when I was able to turn back around, there were lights being turned on in the hall, in the bedroom, and then in here. I was stuck, but so were they.

"There are people in there."

"I wouldn't have gotten you if there weren't."

Chills went down my spine. Those voices belonged to Neji and Hiashi. I really didn't want any trouble with them, but I was in the one place I wasn't supposed to be, with Hinata and some guy she brought. In the heat of the moment, I covered my eyes and waited to be caught.

I heard the rustle of someone entering, and then nothing. Something brushed up on my arm. "What are you doing in here?" Neji hissed into my ear, sounding very upset that I had done what he had said not to.

"I-I had to see who was being snuck in by Hinata..."

"Couldn't you have done that without coming in?"

I couldn't answer. Why hadn't I done that? "Maybe, but I wasn't thinking clearly."

"Neither were they," he said, before grabbing me and pulling me out of the area. "Uncover your eyes, Tenten." I did as he said. "Now listen."

What was I going to listen to? He wasn't speaking anymore, but slowly the sounds of Hiashi yelling filled the air. "How dare you think you can sneak a boy into this house!"

"Father! He's my boyfriend! I've been seeing him everywhere else except for here!"

"Boy, what is your name?"

"I'm Kiba, sir."

My mouth fell open. "She's dating him?"

"You didn't know that?"

"I tripped as soon as I got in there. I never actually looked at who she was with."

"He's not the kind of man I want my daughter being with! You are not allowed to see this mongrel again, not now, not ever!"

The noises of crying became louder than the screaming. "I hate you, Father! Hate you, hate you, hate you!" Seconds later, Hinata came running out of the room, tears streaming on her cheeks.

* * *

"I still can't believe all that happened earlier." I was sitting cross-legged on the bed, brushing out my hair, sometime after noon, and I had to nod in agreement. Hanabi smiled at me and continued her talking. "And it made me realize, seeing my sister all sad like that, maybe being part of this family isn't all that fun. Father is way to strict on all of us."

"Tell me about that," I snorted.

She nodded. "He used to be real hard on you, but he loosened up when he learned you'd do what he wanted. I think he doesn't want to lose me or Hinata to other families, but because he has some sort of ownership over you two..."

"He's okay with demanding things of me. I know."

"Good. I'm going to go out now. A couple of my friends came by last night, asking if I'd go shopping. How could I refuse?" With a wave and another smile, she was gone, leaving me alone on the bed, just brushing my hair.

A knock at the door startled me. "You in here?" I heard Neji asking.

"Yeah."

He opened the door and looked at me. "Sorry about earlier."

"It's okay. I shouldn't have gone in there, and I know it was wrong that I did."

"Ten, I just don't want you to get hurt in there. For being a master with weapons, you are very clumsy, and I'd appreciate it if you weren't missing limbs."

What could I say to counter that? He was truly thinking for my safety. I could feel my cheeks warming up. "But I can be useful. I only tripped because it was dark."

"There's another reason."

My eyes widened. "Which is what?"

"I'm building something special in there, and I don't want you to see it. When we can move in there, hopefully it'll be done and you can finally understand why I'm being so protective of it."

"Good. Some days, I think you love that project more than you love me."

"Don't ever doubt that I love you."

He came over and sat next to me. I laid my head on his shoulder. "I won't. Promise."

"So everything's okay from earlier?"

"Of course it is. As long as you still love me, I'm cool."

* * *

A/N: Today was my first day of junior year. I had to post something to celebrate the day.

Reviews appreciated.

Siggy


	9. Strangeness and Sadness

"There's someone at the door," Hanabi told me, in only one of my old shirts. She hadn't been dressing properly since the incident involving Hinata and the other room, and I thought it was an easy way to rebel against her father. "I'm gonna get it, okay?" I shrugged my shoulders, and she skipped off to the front of the house. About a minute later, she came back, followed by Sakura, who I hadn't spoken to in months.

"Hi, Tenten, I see that you're here. Hanabi isn't telling me where her father is. Could you please tell me?"

"He's not here."

She looked at me with worried eyes. "What do you mean, 'not here?' He wasn't assigned a mission."

"He's with the elders of the family. Been there for over a week and isn't coming back for a while."

"Are you serious? Oh well. I'm just going to have to tell you two, and then you must tell everyone else in this house."

I glanced at Hanabi, who was leaning against the wall. "We can do that."

"So, you know how Tsunade hasn't been doing the greatest, especially with her mind? Well, she lost it completely about a week ago and tried to kill herself. Shizune and myself stopped her, but since then she's just gotten worse and worse. We can't get her to eat. She's not fit to be Hokage anymore, and while Shizune is working on replacing her for the time being, I've been in charge of watching her. It's sad, and I think she'll lose this battle with herself soon." A lone tear fell down her cheeks.

"Oh no. You're serious? We_ have_ to go see her." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I don't plan on letting her leave me without me fixing my problems with her."

Sakura's eyes glistened with the tears that hadn't yet fallen. "You'd do that? I bet she'd appreciate it very much if you did that.

"Of course I would. Hold on, let me go get ready, and then I'll go. Hanabi, you're in charge of telling the others."

"Me? Uhm, no! I want to go say goodbye to the Hokage too!"

* * *

Who told who what was pretty interesting. I ended up needing to get into Hinata's room, where my favorite pair of shoes was held captive, so I was the one who broke the news to her. Hanabi went into my closet to find something appropriate to wear, and on her way out, she found Neji, so she ended up telling him.

The four of us all came back into the main room at the same time, and Sakura half-heartedly smiled at the sight of us. "Come on, we should head over there."

We all walked in silence. Sakura was leading the way, Hanabi right behind her. I was holding hands with Neji, and Hinata was somewhere behind us, trying to keep her distance from the rest of her family. It was a good little walk we had to take to get over there, but it was nothing compared to what we knew we were going to face upon arrival.

When we entered the building where Tsunade was staying, we were greeted by a solemn Shizune. "Hello there, everyone. She's up the stairs." Sakura nodded and escorted us into the room where the frail woman lay upon a bed. She was just laying there, not moving at all.

"My Lady, I have brought guests to see you," Sakura said, trying to be happy.

"Who are they?" the elder woman asked, before her breathing got heavy.

Sakura turned to us. "Let's see, I do believe these are the young members of the Hyuuga clan." She mouthed something about saying hi. At the count of three, all of us said hello.

"Is that Tenten's voice I hear?" she coughed, turning her head toward my general direction. "Or is it my mind playing tricks on me?"

"No, Lady Tsunade, that was me you heard."

"I never would have expected you to bring her here, Sakura."

I heard a snort coming over from Hanabi, but Sakura ignored it. "She was quite insistent on coming here, you know. She apparently thinks you two had problems."

"Those are in the past, my dear. And who else did I hear over there?" As everyone else started talking to her, I stepped back and seriously thought about this. She was putting all of that in the past? All of my horrible deeds? She, after all, was the one who dealt with me right after my engagement, when I was not too happy at the world.

At the same time, though, she was teaching me that what had happened was for the best. She showed me all the lives I had messed up with my foolish actions when I was younger, and that changed me. Here she was, dying, and she had forgiven me?

"Tsunade, wait," I said, interrupting Hanabi, who was in the middle of a sad speech. "You really think all of that is in the past?"

"Of course, Tenten. You never did anything wrong to me. Your actions were uncalled for at times, yes, but you did nothing wrong. Be quiet now, so I can finish hearing the little girl's story." With that, I shut my mouth, and let Hanabi continue.

_What am I doing here? She's lying to me, isn't she?_ My hands were in fists now, and I was biting down on my tongue. I didn't like the whole idea of her really leaving, but if she was going to, there were things I needed to tell her. "It'll be okay," Neji whispered into my ear. "I promise." How sweet it was to hear my husband reassuring me about something he didn't fully know. I let a smile form, just for it to disappear when Tsunade looked back at me.

"Let me tell you something, Tenten. Death isn't pretty. You know this." She turned so it gave the illusion that she was looking at all of us. "You _all_ know this. Life has been hard for everyone in this very room. But death isn't all that bad. It will bring a darkness no one wants to face, but life will also spring out of this dark. Never forget it."

As awkward as it was to do so, we left right after that. Our goodbyes were said, and Sakura walked us out and back to the house. The return trip was less weird as the trip there. Maybe it was the fact that we had just stared our leader in the eyes and saw the shell that was left of her. Maybe it was that cryptic message she gave us. But whatever it was, we talked the way back.

Or, at least, everyone else did. I walked in complete silence, just reflecting on what had happened.

* * *

Three days later, we were greeted with another early morning visit by Sakura, except this time, she was hysterical. "Guys, I don't know how to tell you this," she sniffed, once we let her in and gave her a seat at the table. "She's gone. Fell out the window this morning, and didn't stop herself. Only thing we h-heard was the impact."

Shock filled my body as she continued, but I was too lost to listen even slightly. She must have been ready. How many people had she seen in the past few days? Were all of her goodbyes taken care of, and all that was left was to die? Or was it fate, just fate?

"The funeral is going to be next week. You all better be there. She would have loved to see you all caring even more than the other day."

"Who's going to replace her?" It was a rude question to be be asking, and it surprised me that Hinata was standing there, arms crossed, asking such a thing. "We can't stay without a leader as long this time as we did last time, can we?"

Sakura didn't get around to answering, which I took to mean that she didn't want to even think about having to replace Tsunade. She hadn't been in leadership for a few weeks, anyway, so why should things have to change just because she had died? I wanted to answer with that, but I knew doing so would just worsen the mood.

* * *

A/N: -sigh- I really have started to get back in love with this story. I just wish I wasn't already writing the ending chapters. So, pardon what happens within the next...oh...five or six chapters. They deal directly with my ending, and since I know the specifics of one, the others will probably be much more sad/weird.

With that said, I don't own.

Please review~

Siggy


	10. Dream a Dastardly Nightmare

My head was pounding, heart racing, body shaking, and I thought I was going to die. That was the good part, because I was standing over the edge of a cliff, and pretty soon, I wouldn't be thinking anything. I'd be a splat on the ground, nothing more, nothing less.

"Stop!" I heard someone behind me screaming, someone feminine and not familiar to me in the slightest. "Don't jump!"

I couldn't turn my head to see who it was. "Why should I listen to you?"

"When dead people die, they don't come back." I felt hands on my shoulders, gentle, gentle, until they pushed me. It was then, while I was falling, that I caught a glimpse of this girl, and she looked just like I had when I was younger. Shocked, I ran my fingers across my face, feeling to see if I felt like me. I did, but the water below, something I hadn't seen before falling, showed a totally different picture.

I looked just like my mother had.

* * *

The scream coming from my dream mouth woke me up. Or did it? Nothing else in the room was stirring, except for something in my closet, rummaging through my things. Something that may or may not have been a figment of my imagination, just like the dream. Why was it that I always had dreams involving death?

Fingers trembling, I pulled the covers off of my body and tried to sit up. No such luck. I was too much in shock from what I had seen to do anything major. "Damn mind, being so descriptive," I muttered, just laying there. As badly as I wanted to, I couldn't even roll over and just look at the man who loved me.

He must have loved me for something more than my personality. I was honestly the worst person alive back when we got together. And, actually, I knew he chose me because I was pretty, but how pretty? The me I saw in my dream wasn't gorgeous. The me I saw was absolutely hideous. How did I find myself to thinking I looked like my mom?

Something must have been trying to escape my unconscious mind, something involving the two sides of me. I was pretty sure the dark, nasty side of me was gone like my mom. Maybe that was what I was trying to convey, that I had pushed the evil out.

_When dead people die..._ That could mean so much. My mother was dead, yes, and the young me would do anything to push her off of a cliff. But couldn't that be good me killing off the dead bad me? My entire body convulsed, and I let out a sharp breath. I wasn't beating myself up. I shouldn't be. I needed to be nice to myself, for the sake of everyone.

This reminded me of the fact that, at the moment, every person living under the roof of the house was talking to me, except for Hiashi. Hinata would _only_ talk to me, Hanabi was being her normal mood-swing-y self, and of course I was being talked to by Neji. But it was weird, me having more than one person to talk to civilly.

The rustling in the closet startled me, and I couldn't dismiss it as me dreaming again. This time, I was awake and alert, and most definitely not dreaming anymore, but I couldn't just get up and look to see who was there.

"I wonder if she'll ever notice if this stuff is gone?" That voice belonged to no one other than Hanabi, I knew it. But what was she doing in there again? My body was still unresponsive to any commands I gave, so it wasn't like I could just get up and confront her. "It's all so pretty and gorgeous, and wonderful! She's lucky for having everything in here, and I'm glad I'll be taking it all!"

Something fell, and she gasped. "Oh no! Not a box!" My ears perked up more than they already were. A box falling? It couldn't be the one that had my old notebook in it, could it? "What's this? A book? Did it come out of there?"

The mere mention, from her, of my dear book gave me the energy to jump up and make a mad dash for the closet. What I found was the exact opposite of what I thought I would have found. There Hanabi was, standing on her toes to put the box back up on its high shelf, no sign of the book anywhere.

"Oh hi there, Tenten. Fancy seeing you up." Her grin made me wish I hadn't bothered getting up. She wasn't doing anything wrong, other than going through my stuff without my permission and plotting to take it all. "So, can I take more stuff?"

"Hanabi!" I sputtered. "You-the box-clothes—what are you doing here?"

Nothing in my ramble seemed to phase her. "I'm me, yes. I put the box back after it slid down. And I'm looking through more of your clothes."

"But why?"

"Because it's all amazing. You know, when you don't want it anymore, I'll be glad to take it." I sighed. She was right. I was a pack rat when it came to my clothing, and I had so much of it, she could do this two or three more times and I'd still have way too much. "And, I can help you make room for new stuff. Nice, shiny new stuff."

I felt so loved then. "Thanks, and I do appreciate it that you care. Yet, at the same time, I feel like you know something I don't."  
"I know nothing. Believe me, if I knew something you were supposed to know, someone would have told you already."

What was I going to do then? Hanabi was being my figurative best friend, while my real best friend was pretty much out of my life. Every day I was learning more about myself, and each of those days I also learned something new about my family. Things around here were weird, and I knew I wasn't the only one noticing it. I was also sure this weirdness wasn't isolated to the Hyuuga house. Things couldn't have been the same since Tsunade died, not in this village.

* * *

"I just wish I wasn't so alone," I said, sitting in the hall. Like usual, I was by myself, but this time it was because no one else was home. "I have people here for me, but I'm separated from all of them by something that I can't help."

Flashback to my dream. I was just like my mother after all, being so apart from the real world even though I had tangible attachments to it. But, unlike her, I had someone who loved me for me. It took me hours to figure it out, but I finally did. In getting married, I took a step she never had, and that was because there was a real person to take that step alongside me.

I sighed, "I'm not so alone after all, am I?"

_No, love, you're not._

_Tennie, we're here for you!_

_Never forget that we can listen to you like you listen to us._

Yeah, they weren't really there, but I could hear their voices. It was strangely comforting, to know that even in my mind, I had people supporting me. It brought a broken smile to my lips.

"Thank you, guys."

"And of course crazy little Tenten is talking to herself once again.. Batty woman, isn't she?" Hiashi snickered from down at the other end of the hall. He kept walking, and I didn't respond to him. He wasn't worth ruining my good mood, even though he was just going to aggravate me even farther by coming back when I didn't say anything.

"Oh? Did I disturb you? Have you forgotten that this is my house, and I can break your privacy at any time?" He wasn't worth it. He wasn't.

A loud knocking noise came from somewhere else in the house, and he went to investigate, leaving me alone with the item he sent at me. I inspected it, to find it was an empty blade case that looked awfully familiar to me, before I realized exactly where I had seen it before.

That case came from my closet.

The closet where Hanabi had been digging.

She had taken one of my prized kunai, hadn't she?

* * *

A/N: Wrote this while in a race!high and under the supervision of iflip4dolphins. Yes, it's early in the morning as I post this. I don't care. I wrote it, didn't I?

Someone, please tell me this isn't utter crap.

I don't own.

Siggy


	11. Clothes, Homes, and Love

Sometimes I'd like to take all of this back and go to the time when I was alone, cold, and heartless. I 'd hate to lose everything I'd learned, but it would be worth it if it meant I'd be away from the strangeness that seems to embody the Hyuuga family. I loved where I was, except for the few occasions when something different would happen and life would change once again.

This day was definitely one of those changes. I had grown used to Hanabi raiding my closet, to the point where my kunai would magically disappear and reappear at will. It wasn't a bother to me when I'd wake up to the sound of hangers rattling against walls.

I woke up earlier than the "early" normal this morning, to the sounds of a closet raid. This must have been the time of day when she started doing her job, I assumed. Sitting up, I was very shocked to see there was already a pile of clothing on the floor, none of which I recognized. My mind started going over all of the possible reasons for why she was restocking my closet.

"Hanabi!" I whispered in a very demanding tone. It was still too early in the morning for Neji to be up, and the last thing I wanted to do was wake him up. "What are you doing?"

She stuck her head out and her face erupted into a big smile. "Obviously, if I'm taking your old things, it would be nice if I gave you some new ones." Her logic was good, and I agreed with it, although most of the things she had been taking were way too small for me, and most of the things on the floor looked to be too big.

"Well, that's nice, I suppose. Thank you."

"No problem! Father gave me the money he had been saving for my clothes for me to spend on you. I hope you like what I got you. I took what you already had in here and got things similar to them."

I gave a half-hearted smile. "You better not say they're more than 'similar.'"

"No, they're not. I couldn't find these things in the same sizes as you have them, so I got them in the best size I could come up with."

"Is there a reason other than that for you getting me bigger clothes?" I asked, shaking my head. My reply was a very cheesy smile and her disappearing back into the closet.

* * *

It was nearing noon. Hanabi was long gone, having put everything where she thought it belonged, telling me she wasn't going to mess with my stuff anymore, and going on to live her own life. I took advantage of that to look through the new things she had brought me.

There was an over-abundance of pink, I decided. Pink was my favorite color, but I had never thought I looked good in it, and almost every new article of clothing I owned was pink. I wasn't going to complain though. Hanabi had done a good deed, and if anything, I was going to suck it up that it was all the same, and deal with it.

But there was something else about all of these things. I noticed it as I walked from one end of the closet to the other. She had mentioned that they were not the same size as the rest of my stuff, but they weren't even the same sizes as each other. They weren't too terribly big, but some of the clothes were definitely not going to fit me like I would like them to.

I paced back and forth a few more times, just looking at all of this stuff. Was there another reason for this, masked by the apparent niceness? Sure, I could come up with a million answers, but I wanted truth, not speculation.

My pondering was interrupted by a very loud knock on the wall. I spun around to see Neji standing in the doorway, looking at me. His eyes were focused on me, to the point where I could literally feel his stare. "You need something, honey? You never come into my closet."

He stepped in. "I just did."

"I see that."

"To answer your question, yes, I need to tell you something."

"What is it, then?" My hands went to my hips. "I'm totally not in here looking at stuff."

His stare broke when he looked away, probably trying to hide laughter. "The place is done. Do you want to see?"

I nodded, although he was still not looking in my direction. "I'd be happy to see it. It is ours, after all. Is anyone else going to be in there while we are?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Hinata's watching Hiashi. And that's where she will stay until we block this area off from them. Hanabi should be out, like she said she would be. No one not in this family is here, so it will be just me and you."

My heart fluttered at the thought of actually spending time alone with my husband. "Oh. Okay." I winced at the obvious happiness in my reply, because I didn't want to scare him into thinking I was too happy or anything.

"Excited?"

"A little. This is something else we need to prove we're serious, you know?"

His laugh, this time unhidden, made me smile. "So nothing else we've been through makes us serious?"

"You know what I mean."

"Of course I do, my love." He opened his arms and I ran into them, much like a child would do. As he kissed the top of my head, I sighed, about as content as I thought I could get.

* * *

A/N: I wanted to post this on the 7th to honor the story's one year anniversary, the original's three year, and my half birthday. Obviously, that didn't work. I present to you the next installment of life in the Hyuuga house.

Hope you enjoyed. I don't own.

Siggy


	12. A House Built on Love

If I had known I was going to wake up at a normal time that morning, I would have reveled in my good luck just a bit more. No one was in the room, and it was eerily quiet, even for the standards this house set. I had to investigate what the heck was going on.

Something inside of me should have reminded me that wandering out of the room when there was a strange silence, but nothing. As I got closer to the door, I noted that the hall was a lot darker than it normally would be at this time of day. Then the realization kind of sunk in. There was a wall, one without a door. I figured there was another way in through the new part of the house, but, all I was sure of was that the way to the kitchen was blocked.

"A wall!" I shouted, not sure of what else to do. "Can someone please explain to me _why_ there's a wall here?"

"Because we're officially separating from the rest of the family." Neji came up behind me and draped his arm over my shoulder. "I told you last night, we're making this serious."

I tried to shrug him off, but he was pushing down with a lot more force than I could counter with without hurting someone. "And serious means you have to build a wall blocking me from getting something to eat? I'm going to starve if I have to cook."

"We'd both starve. That's why I've invited Ino over. She's making something for today, then she's going to have some 'helpful' reminders scattered around for you whenever you're stuck cooking." I was still trying to get him off, and that made me want him off even more.

"I'm not incompetent. And she's not so good either. But if it's what you want, then I guess that's what it will be." I sniffled, but I knew he didn't care. "Sometimes, I think you only married me because you needed to marry _someone_."

"We've gone over that before, Ten. I originally got engaged to you because of that. I married you because I love you. Even if you were being sarcastic, I want you to remember that."

I laughed and snuggled into his chest. "I do remember. I love you too, so it's not like I'm here just because you say so and because the law has us legally bound together." He stroked my hair, and we walked into the new part of the house intertwined.

"You two look so cute together!" Ino squealed, grabbing her coat. "Everything's in there, all set up. I've got to go take care of some business with the flower shop. Stay lovely, guys!" With that, she ran out the "front" door.

"Do you want to see what she did?" I stated it like a question, but it was more of a command than a suggestion. He liked the idea, so we peeked in the new kitchen. I was very surprised at how nice it looked, with all the necessary appliances, counter space, and even a little table with two chairs in the corner. "Wow, it's definitely cozy."

He let go of me and turned so he was staring me directly in the eyes. "Do you like it?"

"It makes me think of a normal house, where a normal family would live. But we're 'upper class' so we shouldn't have a normal kitchen."

"Is there something wrong with you?" he asked suddenly. "You seem a bit off. Here," he pulled out one of the chairs, "sit down and I'll get you something."

I was confused, but I sat in the chair, which was extremely sturdy and nothing like what I had expected. "I'm fine, Neji. What in the world made you freak out like that?"

"It was nothing, honey," he said through his teeth, and I knew he was lying. "Nothing at all."

"No, it was definitely something. Did I insult all your work? I'm sorry if I did. I was just making a point that I'd never expect to see something this simple in a house like this." I rested my elbow on the table and put my head on my hand. "But it's cool, it really is."

"Do you have a headache, dear?"

I sort of glared at how stupid of a question that was. "If I did, I'd probably be complaining about it. Just like every time I'm sick or something. Or whenever I get up in the middle of the night and just lay there. I complain about that a lot."

"I guess I haven't spent enough time with you lately to pick up on all of this."

"Yeah, that could be it."I sat up straight and stretched. "Oh, by the way, do you know what was up with Hanabi? She was snooping through my clothes, took a bunch, then bought me a whole bunch of new stuff. I think it's weird."

He had been leaning against the counter, but he jumped when I said that. "Did you, by any chance, ask her why she did that?"

"Yes, but it's not like she gave me a straight answer." I saw that I had made him start thinking when I said that, so I smiled. "What? You guys hiding something from me?"

"Ten, you do remember Hiashi's talk, don't you?"

I blinked. "Yeah." How could I have forgotten it? "What about it? I obviously haven't gotten my notebook back, so I know nothing is going on."

"He did give you the speech about actions, right? The one where it's said that people do weird things, ones that are out of the ordinary?"

"Yeah, but those were spoken things..." I froze. "Wait, are you saying that what Hanabi did was directly related to this?"

His eyes darted side to side, as if checking for someone spying on us. "I, in fact, am saying just that." He focused on me as I just sat there, realizing exactly what he was meaning.

But I wasn't that stupid, was I? Surely I would have picked up on something before he had to explain it. "Okay, so what if that's the case?" I didn't want to say _exactly_ what was on my mind, even though I was sure he'd be telling me it.

"What if? Then we'd be separated from everyone else in the family."

"Which we are," I mumbled, before jumping up. "We are! Did you plan that the way you did, or did it just happen?"

He smiled. "Product of circumstance." When I gave him a confused look, he explained: "Hinata wanted us away from them, the 'real main' part of the family. Hiashi agreed with her, but what he wants really doesn't matter anymore. Hanabi was a bit angry about this, but she decided she did her good for us already."

"And when did this go on?"

"Last night after you had gone to bed. But, there's one thing missing, and I know it. The notebook."

"Because that was supposed to be what told me, right?" I asked, not thinking that it was that serious. But he nodded. "Oh. Well. Uhm..."

We got really quiet, because I wasn't sure what to say and he was looking at me like he was waiting for something. So, due to my inability to formulate words that weren't noises, we just stood there looking at each other. That went on for quite some time until he broke the silence with, "You do know what that all means, right?"

"That we aren't eating our meals with them."

"Close, but you've missed the point of almost everything we just talked about."

I didn't want to hurt his feelings by admitting that I didn't like what he had said, so I continued to play stupid. "Then you'll just have to explain it to me again later," I said, "because I don't feel like listening right now."

Truth was, I hadn't wanted him to talk to me about this so soon. Yeah, it meant I would get to live with him for the rest of forever, but it meant we were succumbing to the wishes of Hiashi without any real struggle.

Life did make more sense, though, and it would definitely explain my good luck that morning. But, later, as I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, how long would it last? I was gazing at my reflection, looking at the pretty woman staring back at me. How long would it be until I wouldn't want to see myself?

Was love really worth going to the edge?

* * *

A/N: Oh. My. Goodness. That took some effort, but after weeks of writing a line at a time, the words came rushing back and I finished the chapter for your enjoyment~

Reviews appreciated!

Do not own fandom.

Siggy


	13. Pretty Horrible, if You Ask Me

It took me about a week to start to see the place as home, after having been taking the bedroom as my only shelter for six months. During that time, I would just sit on the floor in the middle of one of the rooms and stare at the walls, figuring them out perfectly. There was still one area that was blocked off, but I didn't bother asking what was back there.

Like everything else, I'd find that out in time, right?

* * *

_October 1 – Another new beginning?_

That blocked-off room is starting to worry me. I've yet to see anyone go in there, and I'm pretty sure it's empty. Why in the world we'd have a mystery room is beyond me.

Yes, this is me writing in you, Serenity. Yes, I finally got you back. Unlike Signel, it doesn't look like people rampaged through you, and for that, I'm thankful. Not like I made death threats in here, though. Everything I wrote in here was clean enough.

So, in the five months since I last had you, life has changed. A lot. You got taken away because Hiashi thought you'd make a great bargaining piece. To get you back, all I had to do was fulfill one simple goal: get him what he desired. Which happened to be a worthy heir, because his daughters weren't good enough. And that's exactly what I've gone and done.

I honestly can't tell that I'm pregnant. Really. I wouldn't have probably noticed, either, until everyone did, but that's what makes having a husband whose special ability is to see chakra networks, and babies disrupt those. It sounds weird, but I guess it's the truth.

I probably should explain the beginning of this entry, shouldn't I? Well, when Neji found out (among other things, but I don't know what those are), he made it clear we were going to move into our new house as soon as possible. He had been working on that thing for a couple months, and when he got inspired, he finished it quickly, and built a wall to separate us completely. I like not having Hanabi raiding my closet. That was not fun.

Well, that's pretty much a recap of the last while. As for right now, I'm just chilling out. Neji thinks I'm learning how to cook, but I'm obviously not doing that. I refuse to try to learn, because I know I'm just going to fail and potentially burn down the nice kitchen. I really don't want to do that, but here he comes. I should make myself look busy.

* * *

_October 30 – Rumors_

I am not looking forward to ever going outside again. No, I don't look horrible...yet. It's something else. War.

It's going around that some strange people were wandering outside of Suna, which isn't all that far and, face it, they probably get raided a lot more than we do. Is it bad that they were there? Not really, but I guess some convoy headed our way got slaughtered, and that's where the bad stuff starts. We don't have the resources to fight a full-on war. We don't need it.

What's worse is if we do get pulled in, then Neji will have to go, because he's one of the strongest ninja we have. That worries me. He's got to stay here with me, not be out there and die and me have to face the future all on my own.

I'm most scared, though, of these people infiltrating our village. If I face one of them, I wouldn't be able to protect myself, and I don't think our leaders will set a guard on me. I'm technically just a civilian now, because I can't go into battle, can't partake in missions, and definitely can't go a week without eating like I used to.

In other, equally-sad news, Hiashi is losing his mind. Hanabi caught him trying to slice open his leg yesterday, and that spells trouble. He's falling down that path that Tsunade went down, and that was very ugly. We're all positive he'll end up getting hurt before there's anyone he'd like to see replace him. Worse comes to worse, Hinata will just have to take that job.

I bet she'd like it, anyway. She's power-hungry and just waiting for someone to slip up and give her the role of leader of this family . No one wants her there, though, so we need to tread carefully.

* * *

_November 18 – Bad News_

Hinata's gone. She snuck out last night. She convinced Hanabi to watch their dad while she "went out" to hang with friends, and was last seen sneaking out of the gates to town. That spells trouble for the rest of us, especially since he doesn't remember who she was.

In fact, he thinks that he's younger than all of us, even though he's clearly not. His mind is so muddled, he's confusing me and Neji with people he once knew, and we're definitely not who they are. I don't even know who they are.

I'm thinking that this war that's looming is a lot more likely than not. That's where Hinata went, I bet, to go find these people and stop them. I just wish she would have thought about the people she was leaving behind before she went. Now we've not only got this baby to deal with, but there's also Hiashi. He's a much different person, now that he doesn't remember that he hates me.

One last note: I'm freaking glad that Hanabi did those closet raids. Without all those clothes she bought me, I don't know what I'd be doing right now. I don't even care that they're pink. They fit and that's that. I'll have to properly thank her the next time I see her, which should be later, when she comes to teach me how to cook. Neji still isn't giving up on that.

* * *

A/N: The beginning of the end. I'm going to wrap this up in two more chapters. Please review it. :)

Siggy


	14. Entries to the Heart

_December 2 – It Gets Worse_

We got a letter last week, addressed to the family as a whole. The village leaders were examining it for any trace of where Hinata has gone, and it's a treasure trove of information, since it actually is from her. Her "last letter home," in fact. She's either dead or a prisoner now.

Just that news sent Hiashi over the edge. He died in his sleep last night, making this kind of hard for me to be writing down. The head of our little family, for the time being, is Hanabi, and she's not thrilled at all to be in that position. She wants to switch power with us, so she's the lesser and we're the greater...but that isn't going to fly. Hiashi wouldn't have wanted me within a hundred feet of his pedestal, and Neji doesn't have the ability to control the clan.

Poor little Hanabi. She was hoping so badly that her dad would survive long enough to train a proper heir, and that didn't happen. Instead, she's in charge and, right now, she's got to plan out her father's funeral. The village would normally want to get involved, but there's a war outside of the gates, and if we focus on mourning more than protecting, we'll all die.

Right now, I don't really think dying would be a good thing. There's too much for me to live for.

* * *

_December 31 – Beauty at Midnight_

He wants me up until midnight, to ring in our first new year together. I think he's crazy. I have not stayed up late in nearly a month, and that late has never worked for me. Why does he think I'll do it now, when I'm not feeling good and there's fighting and war and horrible, horrible things happening right outside our house?

Oh, right. Because I love him.

Hanabi isn't even here, and she said she would convince him to let me sleep. She had to do leader-like things, and in her anger, she completely forgot to even talk to him about it. Do I blame her? No. But I resent her for not being here.

And now he's telling me I need to get up and help him with something. I'm sorry. I refuse to get out of my chair until he tells me what he wants me to do. I'm asking that right now. There's not much I'm good for, so it has to be easy.

What? Is he serious? He's letting me go to _sleep_ right this minute, and he'll just wake me up later when it's closer to midnight. He's "okay with being alone" for a few hours, even though he'll probably just be watching me sleep like he has done every night.

He's paranoid that, if he's not with me, then something will go horribly wrong and he'll lose me. I try to convince him otherwise, but...I'm not sure how.

* * *

_February 19– Friends_

Ino is here visiting. She's changed so much since the last time I saw her, and it's not physical changes. She's just a different woman now. The horrors of this war have struck her hard. And, even though I've been really sheltered from them, they're starting to hit me pretty badly too.

Sakura's dead.

Let that sink in just a bit.

Her last belongings are now in my possession.

So many people I was at least _once_ friends with are now gone. Hinata hasn't been heard from since we got that letter. Kiba was murdered about a month ago, while he was protecting the villagers in Suna. And now Sakura's gone.

I don't really know what to do anymore. I can't believe that this is happening. It was just last year that life was perfect. Last summer. I was happy in my new life. Now, I wish I was back in that bad place I used to be. There, I didn't have friends like this. I didn't feel this attached to people. I didn't feel the loss of someone this badly.

Hanabi is telling me she'll always be here for me. Ino swears on her life that she's not leaving the village again until this war is settled. I don't want them to give up their freedoms and fun in order to keep me tied to sanity, but...but...it feels good to know they'll be here.

As for Neji, he can't promise he won't be sent on missions again, but he's trying to make me believe he'll try his damn hardest to stay here. I definitely don't want him sacrificing his position in the village for me, his pathetic little wife.

But he will regardless of what I say, so I guess it doesn't matter if I want him here or not.

That's why I love that man.

It's also why I love Hanabi and Ino.

They're caring enough to know we need to stick together, regardless of what we give up for it.

* * *

_March 20 – One Year_

I can't believe I'm actually writing this.

It's been one hell of a year.

A year ago, I woke up from a night of heavy drinking to realize I was engaged to who I thought was my worst enemy. Today, I sit next to him, with him reading every word I write down on this page.

We were too stubborn to call off the engagement, so we ended up going through with the wedding, on May first. Our lives were as close to perfect as they could (and would!) get. We were living together for a few weeks before the wedding, so we were used to each other. And we were building an addition to the house, so we could have our own place.

Then things started happening.

Hiashi got sick, Hinata became restless, Hanabi was acting like any girl her age would, and we were the outsiders. When Hanabi started being nicer to me, I knew something was up.

I just wish it hadn't ended up being that I was pregnant. Because I could have honestly done without becoming a useless piece of society, sitting around being moody and annoying and a burden on everyone else.

But that's not even the bad part. While I was coming to terms with the fact that I was carrying the future generation of this family, Hinata went missing and Hiashi died. That put Hanabi in the position of power, until my baby is old enough to take over.

Meanwhile, outside the village walls, a war is raging and I've lost many of my friends to it. They're fighting to keep the people like me safe. I can never thank them enough.

But now it's a year after that wild night.

I'm no longer the twenty-two year old nuisance I once was. I'm a twenty-three year old woman who's soon to be a mother. I'm much happier now than I ever was before the night.

I just wish I was still almost perfect.

* * *

A/N: I can't believe the next chapter is the end. If you've read this since the beginning, you definitely can notice the change in Tenten, can't you?

I don't own Naruto.

Siggy


	15. The End

How long have we been waiting for this moment?

Well, if you want me to get technical, I could. But I won't. Because I know once you read this, you'll playfully smack me and say you never wanted this day, this hour, to ever come. That would be you channeling the carefree and ignorant you that we thought had disappeared so long ago. I know you've secretly been waiting for this since the moment Hiashi gave you that damn "five years" ultimatum.

This means we can be together, forever.

Then again, what if we can't? There's a war brewing beyond the village walls. We've seen the attacks come in, taking people that we love. If it wasn't for the fickle nature of us humans, all of our friends would be here right now. Instead, it's just you and me. But what if that changes? What if they have to send me away, and something happens, leaving you here alone?

That's a stupid thought.

Nothing can tear us apart now.

You requested for me to write this ending to your notebook. You came to me and asked if I would start penning everything that I thought once this moment came. I accepted, not realizing just how overcome with emotion we'd be when it did come upon us. If you could see me right now through your normal eyes, you'd see a side of me you'd never have come in contact with before. And if I could look at you and see you and not the screaming mess you are right now, I'd see the beautiful woman I fell in love with over a year ago.

Out of all the people in this world, I'm more than happy to call you my wife.

I think it's time to put this notebook away. You look like you could use a hand to hold.

* * *

A/N: Welp. That's the end.

I know, it's so cheesy and short. But I fell out of love with the story (and the fandom) so long ago. I had to end it, and this was the only way that was going to happen. I'm really sorry if I disappointed any of you fans, but...yeah. People change.

I've never owned the characters or the series.

Signel


End file.
